Asia markets set for mixed open as investors assess China inflation data, await Japan GDP print

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This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open lower on Monday as investors assessed China's stronger-than-expected April inflation data.

China's consumer price index climbed 0.3% year on year, beating Reuters estimates of a 0.2% rise.

The producer price index, however, fell 2.5% year on year, more than the estimated 2.3% drop.

The data highlight for the week will be Japan's first-quarter gross domestic product, expected to be 0.4% lower compared with the last quarter of 2023.

India's inflation figures will also be out late Monday, with economists polled by Reuters expecting inflation in the world's fifth largest economy to slow slightly to 4.8% in April, down from March's 4.85%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 could go either way based off futures data, with the contract in Chicago at 38,240 and its counterpart in Osaka both at 38,210 against the index's last close of 38,229.11

Futures for the S&P/ASX 200 point to a stronger open at 7,765 compared with their last close of 7,749.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 18,925, pointing to a weaker open compared with the HSI's close of 18,963.68.

On Friday in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched an eighth consecutive winning session and registered its best week of 2024. The 30-stock index added 0.32% during the session.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.16% and the Nasdaq Composite inched lower by 0.03%.

Consumer sentiment data released Friday morning showed a big uptick in inflation expectations, reining in Investor enthusiasm.

The preliminary May reading for the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index came in at 67.4, far below a Dow Jones estimate of 76 and marking its lowest reading in about six months.

— CNBC's Pia Singh and Sarah Min contributed to this report.

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A global company specializing in tank facilities and refueling technologies could see its stock price soar by as much as 140% over the next 12 months, according to one analyst.

The company's business model assumes buses, industrial trucks, and trains will likely use hydrogen in the future, rather than mass-market cars, which are now primarily transitioning towards electric power.

The analyst believes it's perfectly positioned to capture the rapid rise in new hydrogen refueling stations being built over the medium term.

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Its popularity shows little sign of abating, and although the stock was flat last week, it is still up by nearly 80% over the year to date.

The substantial rise in Nvidia's share price has, however, raised questions about whether those not already invested should buy the stock now, or wait to see if its price drops.

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Goldman Sachs reaches all-time high, gains for 4th straight week and climbs 17% during that span

Goldman Sachs, the largest investment bank in the U.S., touched a record $458.75 on Friday before ending the week 3.8% higher.

Goldman has now risen for four straight weeks, climbing almost 17% during that span and single-handedly adding 431 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the same period.

Looked at another way, Goldman Sachs has accounted for some 31% of the entire 1,405-point gain in the Dow Industrials over the past four weeks.

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Fed officials say they are in 'wait-and-see mode' on interest rates

Federal Reserve regional presidents Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis and Austan Goolsbee of Chicago said they are taking a patient approach to monetary policy as they weigh surprisingly strong inflation data this year.

"I'm in a wait-and-see mode. Let's get a lot more data to see if this inflation is going to continue or if it's stalling," Kashkari said during a joint live interview on CNBC. "We are all committed to getting inflation back" to the Fed's 2% goal.

Goolsbee noted the rapid disinflation that occurred in 2023 and said he is hopeful that can resume following the sticky upward trend seen so far this year.

"I don't like tying our hands even partially when we're going to get a lot of data and important information before the next meeting much less for the rest of the year," he said. "The data dogs need to do some sniffing and figure out, are we going to be on the path like what we saw last year where inflation fell almost as much as it has ever fallen in a year without a recession? Or did we kind of use up all of our good luck and this bump of the beginning of the year is actually a sign of overheating?"

— Jeff Cox

Consumer sentiment drops as inflation expectations jump

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index dropped due in part to a big uptick in inflation expectations.

The index's preliminary May reading came in at 67.4. That is well below a Dow Jones estimate of 76 and under the 77.2 reading for April.

"This 10 index-point decline is statistically significant and brings sentiment to its lowest reading in about six months," Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in a statement.

"While consumers had been reserving judgment for the past few months, they now perceive negative developments on a number of dimensions. They expressed worries that inflation, unemployment and interest rates may all be moving in an unfavorable direction in the year ahead," Hsu added.

Year-ahead inflation expectations jumped to 3.5% from 3.2%. Long-run estimates also went up to 31% from 3%.

— Fred Imbert